Instrumental evaluation of stickiness of textiles under wet skin surface

Abstract

People sweat due to metabolism, exercise, or being in hot environment. The presence of moisture within textile-skin interface will increase the adhesion of water to textile causing sensorial discomfort. Pressure and friction in combination with moisture can lead to skin irritations, abrasions, or even skin contact injuries. This paper describes the design and construction of textile stickiness measurement system which can measure the stickiness of textiles under wet skin surface. Synthetic leather was used to simulate the skin layer while predetermined amount of water was sprayed evenly on it. One edge of the testing sample was mounted on the sample holder while the remaining portion was laid flat. Testing sample connecting to the force gauge was moved across the wet simulated skin surface at a constant speed and the drag force against the dragging distance was measured. The uniqueness of this instrument is that the degree of skin wetness is adjustable and water supplied to the sample increases gradually with dragging distance, simulating from mild to profuse sweating condition. Besides, the way to mount the sample is novel (mounting only one edge of the sample and without external pressure applied) and this is closer to the actual wearing condition. Also, various fabrics can be tested with high accuracy and repeatability. Attempts have been made to correlate the measured stickiness property with the perceived feeling of stickiness and a relatively high correlation was found. This instrument is useful for product selection, especially, for sportswear, hygiene products, or medical textiles.